Just quick reminder in this series of posts I write about typical types of survivalists I came across during my time in war. I speak in detail about complete time in my online course.

Today is about typical leader who knew how to handle our survival situation during war.

He was police officer, we called him “boss” because his look and stand, he had 30 years of service and I do not think that he used a gun too much, but he had a palm like a shovel and he used that a lot dealing with problematic teenagers.

Grumpy guy with who you do not want to have too much business, and if you get caught for some minor thing, theft or whatever, he did not talk to much with you, but his look talked stories, and his hands too. He gave people justice on spot and got respect for that too. He made difference for our neighborhood and was type of police officer that in my opinion does not exist today anymore.

He and his colleagues had a patrol in better part of the city when SHTF, and in the beginning they tried to make some sense in all that, restore order, but when they saw that ambulance vehicle on call gets shredded with shots they realized that a new time had come.

They did not discuss too much but they were sure that law and order is something that is gone now, and to act like law keepers just does not make sense anymore.

They went back to the police station and took more weapons and equipment and then they used police van and went to army storage and took more weapons.

They took that to their homes, and separated. His colleague shook his hand and left, each fighting their own fight, he pushed police van out of the street and went home.

He lived alone for many years before SHTF, and also being the police officer for years gave him advantage of knowing something about mob mentality and power over people, so he did not had too much problems in dealing with problems in that beginning days, but he was alone and that was a problem. But he was smart and that made difference.

In these days everything fell apart in the city, all that makes life normal, so institutions were falling apart too.

Local correction youth center, something like open type jail for teenagers was falling apart too, so young folks were going out from there.

He went there and took 7 guys from there. He used to be something like their “watcher” in normal times, he arrested them for small time burglaries, cons etc. He also kept eye on them when they were out of the correction facility and on streets again. Because of how he did things he was like father who gave them slaps here and then.

They all were kids without family, that correction center was their home or the streets. Anyway he took them to his home, and took care of them in that chaos, and after some time they took care of him too. They all were around 16-17 years old at that time when all hell broke lose.

He taught them to shoot, to defend, to trade, to recognize problematic people, fact that they been that problematic people once only helped in process of teaching. Those kids were street smart. And he was not too soft in process of teaching, in other words he used his “shovel” a lot in process of “making people of them” as he called that.

But he also teach them never to take from someone else. He was still police man and kept his ideals. They never turned against him. I saw many times that real sons turn against fathers in that time, or brother against brother, but they were perfectly loyal to each other, real family. I guess it was because they know that only in this group they can survive.

They did pretty well because starting “capital” he took from the army barracks, so they stand for people that you could visit and get rifle in fair trade, without danger that you could be shot in the back. Also they stand for the people that you do not want to f… with because violence is not problem for them at all.

“Boss” died few months before peace came, from wound infection. All seven of his “boys” survived and I never heard that they did something bad in that time. OK, bad in little bit different terms maybe. Not atrocities, noting about unnecessary violence. What was necessary is different question of course but all we who survived were not most gentle folks at that time.

One of them later in peace went to organized crime and ended shot dead, but all rest 6 of them grow up and became proud and strong family people. Type of man that you want to have for friend.

They all refer to Boss as their father. They live today in different cities and countries, some of them even on another continent, but once in two years they have meeting, all together in his memory.

And that guy from the beginning of the story, colleague of the Boss? He used his share of loot from the barracks to form gang, and they did lot of stuff to the people, he finished dead, stabbed more than 30 times. Nobody remembers him, or wants to remember him, like he did not exist at all. More about “bad bosses” in next article.

So what to make out of this? In survival scenario you want people around you who know why group matters. Just like early humans who knew not to fight each other or cause problems for survival of whole group. In case of boss the street kids already knew about survival and he was perfect leader for them who also knew what kind of leadership style worked with them.

Now I could say nice things about how to choose your group and of course include that annoying drama person that maybe your brother or sister married because “he/she is part of family”. But I speak from my experience and if you want to survive like in any other “team” your group has to work. Having strong leader like boss helps a lot.

Normal laws and norms of society are gone in long term survival situation so people who still do things because it looks good are at disadvantage compared to people who make what works and makes team stronger and not weaker. If someone makes my team weaker on purpose (not because of sickness or age) he is not part of it.

When you think about your survival group, think about who makes best boss? How to lead the people? What works? Prepare for that too and you are far ahead of many other preppers who think they can buy safety with money and having the most preps and gear.

21 responses to “Types of real survivalists: 4. The good boss”

Good scenario, again!
Following someone who is genuinely concerned with pure survival, without oppressing others, would not be a problem for me. As long as this self-appointed leader is not so full of himself, that noone else’s opinion matters.

Great article, Selco! I enjoy your material because you tell the truth, whether it is good or bad. Reality is, no one can do the moral or right thing all the time. Survival requires adaptation and sometimes contradicting your standards. I was a leader in the US Army for most of my 30 year military career. I went outside the rules to accomplish tasks that were not possible using normal procedures. Sure, there were leaders that went “by the book” all the time. But, they were not as effective as Sergeants who were more flexible with Army regulations. None of my unauthorized actions were for personal gain. They were all to benefit subordinates. That is how I justified breaking the rules.

I will bet this happens quite a bit as time goes by, the older, weak parents dying from sickness, accidents or fighting to protect their children. The young will be left to fend for themselves as a result. A ‘Fagen’ type of character or Father figure would take them in, teaching them survival skills and using them to gather resources at the same time.

These ‘teachers’ will have many backgrounds, some with criminal pasts. The ones with criminal pasts will have an edge – they already have made up their mind to survive and gain NO MATTER WHAT. A young person is easily teachable (they are far less prone to argue against an adult), and will grow to depend on the adult to make decisions – loyalty.

One a very very long time ago someone wanted to be a police officer to serve and protect the people in his neighborhood or town. They wanted to protect them from the bad people. They made sure they walked the streets, talked to people, everyone knew him.

Today most cops are there because they like power. I live in a town that only hires fresh cadets for as low of a wage as possible. These cadets are not taught that they must obey and repsect the people they are there serving. They are taught that everyone is their enemy. That old lady down the street may be a drug dealer, so keep an eye on her. Today they drive around and run EVERYONES license plate as if they were automatically a criminal.

United States Police today are dangerous and as evil as your local gang. Actually they are more dangerous because they can steal everything you own and legally assault you. They are not here to serve and protect the people. They are here to serve and protect their master. IF they are told to shoot a old woman in the head they will do so without hesitation. The internet is full of US police spraying and tasering children, women and innocent people. They enjoy it and they get praised for doing it.

The man you talk of Selco is incredibly rare on this planet. He was rare in your time and country, and now he is so rare that I would doubt any exist anymore.

I have known good cops. They are so outnumbered by the thug cops that you might as well not look for them anymore. And the good cops I know left the profession because of how dirty and horrible the other officers are. In SHTF, Police are your most dangerous enemy. In non SHTF, do everything you can to stay away from them, because they are just as dangerous. You cant tell the good ones from the bad ones until it is too late.

The cockroaches and dirty cowards in uniform have one single overriding thought: Everyone not dressed like us is a threat. Destroy the threat. There is one real reason I am as I am: Differing police response to a riot by drunken sports fans and an enviromental protest aimed at shutting ports for a day.

When riot was in full swing, cops just watched shops get looted and cars burnt, standing on the perimiter making sure nobody left. They made charges here and there, making people stampede and trample those in the middle. They fired tear gas. Nothing else.

But when harmless folk, with signs and cameras make protest, cops become so much braver. They make bumrush towards media team, smashing cameras and beating heads, then dragging people away to throw them outside of town with nothing but clothes on back.

If you are harmless, expect a beating and a robbing. If you are armed and a clear threat to fuckery, then you get left alone. If you come in numbers, armed, shielded, helmeted and dangerous when provoked, none of these cowards will have the guts to baton-charge you.

Remember, Body Armor has NO magical properties. A solid hit from many popular hunting rifles will inflict great pain, if not disable the wearer. A shot fired from the side, through the upper part of the arm will penetrate through the hole in the vest through which the arm passes, and the bullet will enter what is known on deer as the “vital” zone. The sides of the vest aren’t equipped with trauma plates, and a powerful rifle bullet will smash the ribs at best, and ball up the vest and drag it through the ribs into the internal organs at worst.

And also body armor affect way how fast you can move. Urban SHTF scenario means lot of fast moving, jumping in all kind of stuff and hiding etc. Sometimes it make more sense to be quick then “armored”. I am not saying it is rule, but it is something to think about.

Thanks for another example of success in survials. I guess you can’t guess how anyone will respond to crisis, but the truth about who they really are comes out. I have a big bossy son-in-law who acts like he knows everything and has little patience, but most military experience, so i think he will stand out, but we can’t be sure, can we? Maybe in a crisis he will crumble and one who seems weak, may be the strongest one.

I have question for you, Selco. How much time did you have to prepare for war? Did you know it was gonna happen? What were the clues?

I did not have time to prepare, I knew it is gonna happen but somehow I just refuse to recognize because it was new situation for me. Clues were all around, hidden and in the plain sight.Violence rising, powerful and rich people moving away, other people selling some stuff and leaving, hyperinflation, things were turned upside down in every term…
Now, from this point of view it was so clear.

Sadly, I have to agree with Timgrey…and also with j.r. guerra…It’s coming SOON, and it’s going to be FAR WORSE than ANYthing you saw…because of the breadth of the UTTER UNPREPAREDNESS of the general public…rich OR poor!

Please keep it up Selco, you’re PREparing us in SIGNIFICANTLY pertinent ways…psychologically, mentally, emotionally, and, in a common sense manner! THANKS AGAIN bro!

All good points, and with the numbers available of we the people a full spectrum put down of the insurrection is possible. One facet overlooked is the hearts and minds program. Not the democrat give away freebys and fund the insurgency h&m program, but the original one. In the orignal h&m program, at the strategic hamlet level, nothing was given away but time. The military simply was always there. The vc were supplied by the civilian populace, so with a military escort along side, no money, food, goods, or info could be transferred from the civvies to the vc. We didn’t build them free factories, copper mines, schools, give them free wheat to enslave them to monsanto, we didn’t build them mosques or insurgency training academies, we were just there to try and make sure they didn’t go bad. So if the vc wanted support, they went to an unsupported ville.
We the people need to do the same. Have we the people there for every move the insurgents make. Civilian we the people oversight committees will play a huge roll in keeping the insurgent forces on the illuminated oath keeper path. “Just do your job” “keep your oath” “follow the law” and don’t go to the democratic dark side. As Martin Lawrence said, don’t start none, won’t be none!
But we must also remember the useful diots, or as Napoleon invented, cannon fodder, who the insurrectionists in power will push before them, and make appropriate plans. There are many time tested and proven, military tactics that work well against an insurrection. We just have to remember that here, the drive by media and commie dems are trying to portray the situation backwards. Remember that it is we the people who are the government, not the insurrectionists! We the people must own the language. We the people must be very careful at our wording and not use insurrectionist terms like “rule of law” which is a purely communist term, invented, owned, and operated by albert venn dicey in the 1900’s while he was buddies with karl marx. We the people are a constitutional law structure. Afghanistan is a functioning rule of law government! Is that what we want here? Not so fast!

I see alot of me in that ‘Boss’ guy. The younger aged adults and older folks like my straight up, strick but fair demeaner. I have been trying to keep a low profile but the word is getting around that I may not have much hard assets, But is full of know-how and a guy you can trust as long as you do not try to pull any crap on. I am aware that many will come to see me to join when SHTF. This makes me nervous and proud at the same time. Leadership is valuable, but carries a lot of responsibilities also. A few words spoken in anger can cause some to misunderstand it as a wish or order. Learned that one the hard way many, many years ago. Also as leadership includes a high level of power, few can manage this properly and dive deep into power tripping and all kinds of dishonorable acts and behaviors. Seek someone who is aware of this and conducts themself accordingly. During normal times, they are hard to spot as most choose to live quietly out of the spotlight. Stay clear of the show-off or bully types as they are the ones who turn bad fast with a tiny bit of power at their disposal.
I can spot a good guy biker way before I can spot a good guy police officier. As Timgray mentioned, it is safer to be weary of cops as you would a biker. Don’t run, but keep your distance and avoid confontations or contact if possible.
On an off topic note. My daughter and son-in law and twin baby granddaughters are moving in with my wife and I. This was initiated by my son-in law after my visit with them in the big city and we talked about what his plans were to protect his wife and girls when the SHTF. He realized that he had ideas that would fail (seeds of thought planted by me in conversation). This is a way I measure a person I want near me. Someone who can get pass their ego and think with an open mind to other options on their own. Babies, humm, A new list of preps need to be drawn up and worked on 🙂 Better now than in the middle of SHTF.
So be ready for group growth as the time nears. I have a daughter and a son who can go to hell first before they are allowed anywhere near me or my family. They are users and selfish people ( not the way they were raised but their choise of behavior). So also be ready not to let deadheads (family or not) inflitrate your group. The group’s survival depends on doers and not losers. Members who become sick or injured, old or very young are not losers as Selco mentioned. Losers are those who will/does harm to group by their actions or lack of actions. Remember, SHTF is not a game, it is hardtimes and an unforgiving battle for survival. Love and loyalities for all its members is a must and not an option.

I like to think I was good kind of survivalist, or at least I tried to be good kind of survivalist.
Member of family, group who protected each other member.
In that process you can say that some bad things are done too. It is survival.